SAO: The Journey of a Thousand Miles
by Kilo 6
Summary: Just read it and ask questions afterwards.
1. Intro

"I'll beat you this time, Master!"

"Easy, Takeo. Overconfidence leads to mistakes."

"Swordsmen, face each other."

The teenage boy and older man both place on their helmets and stand several feet apart, their sabers out and at the ready.

"En garde."

The two flex their sword arms in response.

"Pret."

The combatants gently touch blades, resulting in a slight ring.

"… Allez!"

Takeo advanced forward with his saber, aiming for a quick lunge. The master easily redirected it with a beat parry and stabbed at him. Takeo, realizing it, sidesteps, and beats the saber aside to allow another lunge. The other blocked with a seconde, and scored a hit against Takeo with a cut.

"Point to Masters," the referee says.

"I warned you," the older man says, removing his helmet. "You're letting the advanced skills go to your head, Takeo. Don't just start with an attack, think of possibilities that will allow you to expose you enemy's guard, and move for the strike."

The latter grunted in response, obviously annoyed by how fast the round ended.

"Jacob, begin the drill exercises. I want to speak with Takeo. Privately."

"Got it James," the referee replied. He stepped off the sparring platform and barks out to the students watching, "Everyone up! Get with your partner for the drills! When I call out the sequence, name the techniques used for that sequence when performing it!"

"Yes sir," everyone replied. Takeo and James, however, went into one of the back rooms of the building, which served as a business office for the school. In it were several posters, showing famous fencers and swordsmen of antiquity; everyone from Lucien Gaudin and George S. Patton to Pavel Kolobkov and Sada Jacobson. Three swords also rested on a case behind the office desk; an Afghan _pulwar_, a Patton Sabre, and a modern foil. Takeo caught sight of a helmet of some sort, definitely not a fencing one, but his line of sight was blocked by James stepping in the way.

"Takeo, I'm not the prying type, but you seem troubled."

"… It's nothing, sir."

"That isn't going to cut it, boy, now speak you mind!"

"… I've… been under fire from my school. It involves you."

"Oh? I assume it involves the Kendo Club," James infers, a twinkle in his eye.

Takeo's jaw dropped. "How did-"

"I, too, am under constant barrages about the fencing school. Many free schools here in Japan only practice Kenjitsu or Kendo. They weren't too happy about a French-styled fencing school being in the area." He sets his helmet on the desk and leans against it, his fighting saber resting within his arms. "For all I care, they can complain to the UN itself, but I'm not budging a single inch. You never persecute somebody for their interests, Takeo. Machiavelli the Advisor had taught us that it is better to be feared then loved. But there is a very distinct line between being feared, and being hated. This is a case of the latter."

"But why hate? I see no connection."

"Takeo, I'm a Chinese-American who just recently gained citizenship in Japan and operates a French-based fencing school. How many more lines do I need to draw for you?"

Takeo paused for a moment, considering all that James has said. "…Alright. I think I understand."

"The members of your school's Kendo club have every right to express their opinions. But, should they ever attempt to insult you honor, defend it with all that you have, and, if you want, insult theirs. An enraged opponent-"

"-is no better than an inexperienced one," Takeo completes.

"Alright, go on ahead and rejoin with Akira. I know about the two of you having a _loose exchange_."

Takeo gulped at hearing the last two words and left the office, now seeing the helmet behind James. "Hey is that-"

"A NerveGear? Yes, but it is not for you. Now, _RETIRÉ, RETIRÉ_," he barks at the boy, ushering him out. He pauses for a moment, looking at the helmet, before shutting off the lights and closing the door.


	2. And so it begins

**November 26, 2022**

James stared at the wall clock on the far side of the sparring room as two of his students dueled each other with foils. It was already 12:47 P.M. Only thirteen minutes until 'it' was in place.

"Point to Kasumi," Jacob calls out as one of the fencers lands a clean hit.

"Well done, the both of you," James says, walking towards the fencers. "Out of everyone here, you two have improved the most."

Both fencers bowed at him in respect.

"Alright that will do for today. The rest of the day is for all of you. Dismissed."

Everyone in the room picks up their gear and leave. Some head into the locker room and dress out, others just wait around, talking with friends. Jacob approached James, looking confused. "James," he says in a hushed tone," are you seriously giving them the rest of the day off just so you can play _Sword Art Online_? Are you even serious?"

"Why not? You know how fast the hard copies sold out. That means the game is going to be loaded with hundreds of players in a matter of seconds. Besides, everyone has been working diligently, so they deserve a little time for themselves."

Jacob stared at him for a couple seconds, before shaking his head side-to-side in disbelief. "And this is coming from somebody who earned the 'Master of Arms' title from Saumur. I can't believe you, James…"

"Don't worry. It's not as if I'm going to get addicted to it. The combat in SAO may be computerized, but the real thing is always better. And it will just be for today."

**(A/N: Cue massive plot foreshadowing…)**

"Alright. If anything happens… Just know I got you're back here."

"That's why I chose you as my first instructor, Jacob. You're just as well trained as I am. Now, if you'll excuse me," James says, heading to the back office. He opens the door and stares at his sword collection before grabbing the NerveGear off the desk, then heads out the backside to his home. Handy that his own school is right outside his own house.

He entered the house and slide the glass door back, leaving it unlocked. It was something he developed as a habit, in case a bad scenario played out within the studio. He went into his bedroom at the front of the house, closed the door, and set the NerveGear on the side and plugged in the power cord. He then picked up the memory drive that sat in front of his computer and placed it into the slot on the helmet. He then laid down on his bed and placed the NerveGear on. The time read 12:59:47. Just a few more seconds until the server opened.

James started controlling his breath, focusing on relaxing. Anxiety wasn't really recommended when booting up the NerveGear. He closed his eyes for a moment, his mind drifting back to Normandy, smelling the sea breezes. When he opened his eyes, the time was just seconds away.

56…57…58…59…

1:00:00 PM.

"Link Start!"

* * *

_Initializing NerveGear…_

…

_Calibrating sensors…_

_Touch… OK_

_Sight… OK_

_Sound… OK_

_Smell… OK_

_Taste… OK_

_Finalizing…_

…

_Welcome to _Sword Art Online_!_

_Please enter the following information that you see;_

_Name: Jun_

_Gender: Male_

_Weapon Preference: One-handed curved blade_

_Your avatar appearance will be randomized to preserve you're identity. Confirm?_

_Y_

_Finalizing…_

…

_Thank you for playing _SAO_. Enjoy the game!_

* * *

For a moment, there wasn't anything. Just a pitch-black void. Then, in a sudden flash, as God himself had decreed, "Let there be light," pure white light brilliantly flashed. Jun opened his eyes as the light faded away and color returned. His vision blurred, but after blinking a couple of times, it cleared up. In front of him was a massive statue of some type, but before that, was a large banner:

_Welcome to Sword Art Online!_

Jun smiled to himself as more and more people started warping in as blue lights before their avatars took shape. He looked around the large square, and noted that more than a hundred people were spaced out, with more still incoming. Jun promptly left the square and ventured out into the field, eager to try the combat system.

According to the development articles, as well as the reviews leaked by beta testers, the combat system in SAO was suppose to use what are called "Sword Skills," a combat movement that is aided by the system. Each skill begins with a Pre-Motion position, which is used to activate the skill. Following the performance of the skill, the user ends with a Post-Motion freeze, which leaves one open to counter attack. Until the skill's Cooldown period ends, that particular skill cannot be used.

However, any time a skill is about to be used, the weapon glows a specific color, meaning only people with a fast enough evasion skill or can parry the blow can render skills unaffected. But, Jun figured, his skills in classical fencing would give him an edge over someone who was over reliant on the system. That, and it would be interesting to win a duel without using a single skill.

Before he could ponder any more, he was interrupted by the sound of growling all around him. He was so focused on reviewing the combat mechanics, he got surrounded by a wolf pack. A total of seven surrounded him, snarling with pure white teeth. Jun simply smiled and drew his Curved Iron Sword nice and neatly. Just as it cleared the scabbard, the one directly in front of him pounced, jaw gaping open. Jun neatly lunged, and jammed the blade down its throat and to its left side. A large orange gash appeared across the side of the wolf before it promptly shattered into a million pieces of blue shards.

The rest of the pack howled in anger, and attacked. Jun blocked and kicked back each one, but as one was battered away, another would try to attack from behind. Instinctively, he brought the sword up to his left side, and triggered a skill. Two wolves pounced from behind, but Jun spin around, performing a Horizontal and hitting the two across their snouts. They promptly shattered into pieces and drifted away. Another pounced at him and succeeded in latching onto his left leg.

Though there was only a minor tingling sensation, he cursed involuntarily and drove a stab right through its head before delivering a knee strike to knock it off. He readied an Uppercut, and took another wolf out of the fight. Three to go.

Two of them lunged at him, but Jun sidestepped, and brought the blade down onto one of them, killing it. He grabbed the other one by the throat as it attempted to lunge at him again, threw it aside, and ran his blade through it. That left only the one with a gash in its head.

The wolf snarled and leapt at him as Jun charged a skill. Just before it came into contact, he let a Stab fly, impaling the wolf, and stopping right at the cross guard. It paused there for a moment, before shattering into thousands of polygons. A window popped up in front of him, saying;

_Congratulations!_

_Result:_

_EXP: 121_

_Col: 82_

_Items: 2_

_You have advanced to Level Two!_

Jun sheathed his blade as he examined his skill screen. Some of his EXP was allocated to his One-Handed Curved Sword skill, while the rest went towards Sprint, Parry, and Acrobatics. He also took a moment to skim through the list, noting how many slots for skills were still hidden. It looks like the amount of skills was virtually endless. Not only were there weapon and passive skills, but there were also other skills, like Detection, Night Vision, and even Blacksmithing skills. The developers really thought this through.

As he closed the menu, Jun stared off into the plains. Wild Boar and Wolves were scattered about. The "Sun" and "wind" felt as if it was in real life. If VR games could get to this point, then does that mean humanity can, and will, get to the point of something like _The Matrix_?

"Let's find out," Jun says to himself, as he charges across the fields and attacks another monster.

* * *

_Approximately three hours later…_

Jun laid on his back as he breathed a sigh of relief. In the span of about three hours, he had increased his level only to level five. If the grinding was that tough, then it would probably take at least another five or so months to reach the max level. In most RPG styled games, that was typically the case. As time goes on, more EXP is needed to advance to the next level. But fatigue in game is fully simulated. You don't eat, don't sleep, it feels if you hadn't done either in forever. However, pain isn't felt. It's more like a tingling sensation whenever you get hit. Jun, himself, felt the sensation over his arms, legs, and torso. Luckily, he didn't take any attacks to the head, or he might have a migraine.

_That should be enough for today_, he thinks, calling up the main menu. He tabbed through the screen and found the tab for the logout. Only, there was just a faded door icon.

"What the hell," he mutters aloud. He sits upright and tabs the button, but it does nothing.

That's probably bound to happen. The game is only on its first day out, so there are bound to be bugs. He immediately hit the button for a game master, but nothing happened as well. Were others having similar problems as well? It was surely-

Jun's thoughts were interrupted. Off in the distance, a large bell was ringing. Then, suddenly, blue light surrounded him, and then… he was back in town again?

_What's going on?_

"A forced teleport," the player next to him muttered. Others were coming in, each dazed and confused about what is going on.

"Is something wrong?"

"Where are the game masters?"

"Wait! Up there," somebody says, pointing into the sky.

Jun follows the crowds gaze. In the center of the sky was a single red hexagonal panel. He could barely make out the text on it, but it read; _Attention_.

In a sudden rush, more of the panels covered the sky, each reading _Attention _and _System Announcement_, until they completely covered the view and blotted the entire area red.

"This isn't good…"

No sooner than Jun said that, a liquid of some type, possibly blood, began coming in through the cracks, falling to the ground. But instead of splattering across the square, the liquid pooled together in mid air, and turned into a large, humanoid figure in a billowing red robe. A gamemaster.

"Attention players," he boomed. "Welcome to my world."

"'My world'?" The guy next to Jun muttered.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world."

Several other players muttered thing like "It's really him," and, "He's done so much."

"I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat: This is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online."

"A-a feature," someone blabbed.

"You cannot logout of SAO yourselves," Kayaba continues. "And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."

"What?"

"What's he even talking about?"

"This is bullshit," somebody says.

"Enough already," another says.

"Let's go," another adds. He takes a girl, most likely a companion, by the hand, and the pair attempt to leave the square. However, when they reached the covered section of the square, they got bounced back. An invisible barrier.

"What's he talking about? He's gotta be nuts," another player nearby comments. "Right, Kirito?"

"He's right that the transmitter's signals work like microwaves," the guy named Kirito says. "If the safety were disabled, it could fry a brain."

"Then, if we cut the power-"

"No, the NerveGear has an internal battery."

"But this is crazy. What's going on!?"

"Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning," Kayaba says," and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Anicrad and the real world."

"Two hundred and thirteen?"

"I don't believe it… I don't believe it!"

"As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths," Kayaba monotonously continues. Various screens, showing websites and TV broadcasts, popped up, all showing messages about how "SAO players are trapped," and whatnot. "Thus, you can assume that the danger of a NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone from within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be lost forever. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain.

"There is only one means of escape. To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Anicrad, Floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the floor boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."

"Clear?"

"What's he even talking about?"

Jun looked confused as well. But not with what Kayaba said. Is it truly possible to clear all 100 floors? And if so, will it be true about being set free?

"Y-You're just making that up!"

"Clear all one hundred floors? That's impossible. The beta testers never made it anywhere near that high!"

Kayaba continued to ignore everyone. "Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves."

Everyone pulls out their item storage menu and looks at what was there. Jun noticed one object; Mirror. He pulled it out into real space and examined it. Just an ordinary hand mirror. What was so special about-

The guy right next to him started glowing a fiery-blue. "Klein," Kirito yells out.

Others started glowing as well before Jun noticed himself as well. The light around him blinds his sight, and he squelches his eyes close.

Then, the light stopped. Jun slowly opened his eyes… but nothing changed.

"You alright, Kirito?"

"Y-Yeah… Who are you?"

"And who are you?"

That's when Jun noticed something was off. And it wasn't just one person. It was everyone; everybody's appearance has changed. Jun stared at the Mirror himself, and noticed that he now possessed his jet black hair, crew cut style, and his jade green eyes. His height had returned from 6'4" to 5'11". He still had his heavy build.

The entire square was in confusion as to what was going on. The pair that had attempted to leave turned out to be a pair of guys.

"Your Kirito/Klein," the two simultaneously ask each other.

"How," Klein ask after a small pause.

Kirito mutters, "That scan…"

_Damn, he's right! If the NerveGear uses high-powered microwaves for the transmitter, then it would be able to produce a complete digital image of one's face._

"But what about our height and body shape…"

"When we first used the NerveGear, it had us calibrate it, right," Klein says. "You had to touch your body all over."

"O-oh, right… That's probably where it got the data."

"But…But… Why? Why do all of this anyways?"

"I'm sure he'll tell us," Kirito says, pointing at Kayaba.

"Right now, you're probably wondering 'Why?' Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all of this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason: To create this world and intervene in it. And now, it is complete.

"This ends the tutorial for the Official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players."

With that, the figure of Kayaba Akihiko dissolved in static and computer-generated blood, and returned to the sky. As soon as it had left, the _System Announcement _panels went away, showing the sky was about an hour from sunset.

Nobody moved. Nobody even breathed. The shock of being forced to play a death game was still carved into their faces of stone.

Then, somebody dropped their Mirror and screamed, "No!"

Bad move. It set off a whole riot within the square. Many barked into the sky, yelling for Kayaba to return.

Jun, on the other hand, merely stared at the Mirror for a little bit. Then, he walk to the statue in the center, took one last glance at it, then threw it into the statue, shattering into millions of polygons.

"I'll be damned if I'm just gonna wait to die," he mutters under his breath. Some players then began running away, shoving through the crowd. It only sparked a mass riot; people shoved one another to get away. Some just wanted to run away from it all. Others wanted to get a jump on the journey so they can end this death game.

But Jun was one of few who didn't panic. He calmly walked away, singing a tune from a particular song;

"_Legends have taught,_

_Battles fought!_

_This Lion has no fear at Heart!_

_Lion come forth,_

_Come from the North,_

_Come from the North!_"

He hasn't gone insane. He isn't going to wallow down and cry. He's going to fight. And he will win.

The Journey of a Thousand miles has begun with but a single step.

* * *

**So there you go. I've started this thing. And I hope to keep it alive. You have obviously noticed that there was really no interaction with the real characters, whatsoever. Just calm yourselves and wait for the next chapter.**

**Next order of business, I need three OCs, two female and one male. Probably won't see them until Chapter 3 or 5 (still working on it...), but here's what I need;**

**-Name (Either real name and in-game name, or just in-game name)**

**-Age**

**-Gender**

**-Physical Appearance (no overkill 6'8" guys, please)**

**-General Personality (3-5 sentences. no random or overhyped characters, this isn't what I plan to go for)**

**-Brief History (Optional)**

**-Preferred weapon**

**-Additional Skills. Extra attention if they have an instrument skill.**

**Also, if you can figure out what song the lyrics belong to, you will be recognized in the next chapter. PM is greatly preferred. And, heads up, this will be following the anime.**

**Have a nice day.**

* * *

**UPDATE, 3-5-2014: Guys, I appreciate all the views I'm seeing, but I don't bark or bite. Send in some reviews!**


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